A frequent guest vocalist in the hip-hop, jazz and soul world, Jamila has
emerged as a once-in-a-generation voice on her soul-stirring debut. Hailed by
Pitchfork as, “a singular mix of clear-eyed optimism and Black girl magic,”
HEAVN is the culmination of more than two decades' worth of musical
performances, creative remixing, haunted memories and her unique “collage”
writing process. “I think of songs as physical spaces,” Jamila says.
“Writing a song feels like decorating my space with things that make me happy
or reflect who I am.”
The message of HEAVN, the album, and Jamila, the musician and poet, are clear:
all parts strengthen the whole. Born and raised on the Southside of Chicago,
Woods grew up in a family of music lovers. She was a member of her
grandmother's church choir as well as the Chicago Children's Choir and often
sat next to her parents' speakers, singing along to their sizeable music
collection while surrounding herself with things she admired.
But it took a surprise poetry class with the high school arts program Gallery 37 for Jamila to finally find her metaphorical and literal voice. “Through poetry, I realized you are the expert of your own experience,” she says. “You can tell your story the best and no one else can tell it for you. You can focus on what you lack, comparing yourself to other people, or you can focus on what you can do right now with your voice.”
In 2016, Chicago-based hip-hop label Closed Sessions released HEAVN. Working with Closed Sessions gave Jamila a home to help craft a complete, singular body of work. “That's been the coolest thing,” she says. “Just being connected with so many people in Chicago. I like that they're local.”
HEAVN features a variety of producers, including odd Couple, a fellow Closed Sessions signee who produced five of the album's 12 tracks. “Working with odd Couple was when I really started thinking of [HEAVN] as an album,” she adds. Other producers on the album include Peter Cottontale and even Jamila's sister. In 2017, Jamila partners with Jagjaguwar and Closed Sessions to re-release the critically-acclaimed HEAVN.
Latest single LSD (feat. Chance The Rapper) was added to Flava Nights rotate last month, being considered by Mai FM, and was added to playlist by Radioactive. It was all featured on Radio NZ Nationals Music 101 (August 19th episode). Previous single Holy (Reprise) got widespread play across alternative radio.